Good morning, and welcome-officially-to the 2016-17 major college basketball season.

The NCAA Division I season starts today, at 11 a.m. Central time, on Friday, Nov. 11, still in the heart of football season. The team leading off the year with hosting duties is Middle Tennessee State, the team that captured hearts in the NCAA Tournament in March as a 15 seed, shocking the nation by knocking off one of the tourney favorites in Michigan State.

The Blue Raiders’ opponent? The Milligan College Buffaloes, an NAIA program from the Tri-Cities region in eastern Tennessee that went 16-11 a year ago in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.… Continue Reading

Different people enjoy college basketball for different reasons. It’s part of what makes the sport so enjoyable for some of us.

At the risk of being self-indulgent, one of the attractions of college basketball for me, from the time first watching the NCAA Tournament in 1987 at nine years old, but even earlier in that hoop season, has always been that you just never know where the next story will come from in this sport. The unpredictability, the joy of a team coming out of nowhere or finding out something about a team you knew next to nothing about-or even a team you thought you knew-is a big part of what makes the sport unique from so many others.

The Northeast Conference has long made its mark as a highly competitive conference whose best teams fit the little-engine-that-could mold. While all of that held up this season, there is something else to add right now: the conference has a lot of good talent that will be returning to make it better.

While Wagner won the conference by two games, a three-way tie followed, and in all seven teams were separated by three games after the Seahawks. While Bryant and Central Connecticut didn’t make the conference tournament and were further back, the Bulldogs won road games at conference champion Fairleigh Dickinson as well as Mount St. Mary’s and LIU Brooklyn, and the Blue Devils won at Robert Morris – always a tough place to win even in a down year for the Colonials – and beat Mount St. Mary’s in New Britain.

The exciting run to the Northeast Conference championship cannot be taken from Fairleigh Dickinson University. On Tuesday evening in Dayton, it was good (Kn)night. Florida Gulf Coast dominated the Knights to move on with a date against North Carolina on Tuesday.

FGCU’s offensive efficiency was 120 and highlighted by a 26 of 34 (.765) shooting percentage inside the arc. FDU was 81 in offensive efficiency and struggled to find the range all night. The Knights shot better from three than two-point range, as they hit 8 of 23 (.348) from downtown and 15 for 47 (.319) inside. A silver lining if one can be found, lie in turnover percentage. FDU forced the opposition into a 23 percent TO rate while committing turnovers themselves at just an 11 percent rate.

The NCAA Tournament’s First Four started the tourney Tuesday with a whimper, and it ended the night with a whimper as well.

In nearly 30 years of following this event, it’s hard to remember many first games of the NCAA tourney that have been as one-sided as this year’s. In a battle of 16 seeds, Florida Gulf Coast jumped on Fairleigh Dickinson from the start and hammered the young Knights 96-65, seeming to pick up on the vibes from its last NCAAs appearance in 2013 when it advanced to the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed.

The Eagles dominated in about every way imaginable, but especially inside. FGCU shot 59.6%, scored 44 points in the paint and outrebounded senior-less FDU 52-33. It was a clinical domination by a team that is playing its best right now and will have the size and athleticism to at least make North Carolina sweat a little in its next game if the Tar Heels aren’t on their game. … Continue Reading

It’s been a combined 30 years since Wisconsin-Green Bay and Fairleigh Dickinson have made the NCAA Tournament. For that reason and many others, both will be very welcome additions to this year’s NCAA tourney field.

Fourth-seeded Green Bay topped 3 seed Wright State 78-69 to win the Horizon League tourney in Detroit, completing a run of four wins in four days. Meanwhile, No. 2 seed FDU won at top seed Wagner 87-79 to clinch the Northeast Conference title and complete a rags-to-riches season in which the Knights were picked ninth of 10 teams in the NEC preseason poll.… Continue Reading

For the best-kept secret among conferences in college basketball this season, look no further than the Colonial Athletic Association, which also just so happens to have the very best conference race this year.

Perhaps the game of the night Thursday was in the CAA, where UNC Wilmington visited Hofstra with sole possession of first place on the line. The game lived up to all one could’ve hoped for, coming down to the wire before Denzel Ingram hit the winning three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Seahawks a 70-67 win.

The CAA has long done a very nice job with its regional television packages, but this message goes to the national networks: this game belonged on national television. UNCW rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit and from 14 down with 11:28 to play. The Seahawks continued to chip away and took the lead late, but then had to weather a tying triple by Juan’ya Green with 20 seconds left before winning their eighth straight game.… Continue Reading

TEANECK, N.J. – You could call it a classic. That might be debatable. You would not have any argument, though, labeling the finish a classic. Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Princeton last Wednesday 89-85 in a contest that featured several momentum swings as both teams took turns enjoying eleven-point leads.

Princeton built their lead by early second half. FDU slowly chipped away. The formula was simple: attack the basket. “Good things happen when you go inside,” FDU coach Greg Herenda said. The Knights went on a scoring outburst the second half. They got to the line attempting free throws the final twenty minutes. Herenda could only study the stat sheet, commenting,“ We scored 64 second half points against Princeton. Think we entered the game scoring about 60 for the entire game.” … Continue Reading

For all the things ESPN has messed up in recent years (and there are a lot of them), its 24-hour college hoops marathon shows where the network continues to shine.

The hoops marathon is pure, old-school ESPN at its best. Games around the clock at funky hours, similar to how the Ohio Valley Conference used to buy time on the network to play games at midnight Eastern time when one Jim Delany was its commissioner. Intriguing matchups featuring good teams regardless of conference affiliation, as opposed to force-feeding us more games involving football conference bottom feeders or powerhouses hosting guarantee games that shouldn’t see the light of day on national TV (see: Elon at Duke, Dec. 15; apologies Phoenix fans).

It’s an event that truly builds up buzz on the campuses where it takes place. When schools like Monmouth, Rider and Florida Gulf Coast get a chance to be the featured game on ESPN, it’s a big deal. Even if it is at 6 a.m. in the morning.

The Northeast Conference has had a good run in recent years, from one of its best seasons in 2011-12 to seeing a new member become a contender as they become eligible for the conference tournament. The conference always has some good basketball with its top teams, and this year was no exception. Part of that was once again evident in the conference tournament, as the regular season champion once again didn’t take home the title.

Robert Morris has been a mainstay for several years now. You could argue that the Colonials are the signature program in the conference, as they have won at least 12 conference games each of the past seven seasons. The past two seasons, they have won the regular season title by two games. Yet a conference championship remains elusive, as they captured two straight in 2009 and 2010 but have yet to do it again.

Gonzaga might have needed the West Coast Conference title they won in Las Vegas last year in order to be in the NCAA Tournament. With better guards, there should be no doubt about that this time around.

The Big 12 has been on a great run to be the top conference in recent years, including last year. This year will be a challenge due to a big loss of experience throughout the conference.

Hoopville Archives

Hoopville Archives

College Basketball Books

Everybody Needs a Head Coach

Former college basketball coach Mike Jarvis has a new book out, Everybody Needs a Head Coach.

"As you read this book, I hope that Coach Jarvis' experiences inspire you to find your purpose in life."-Patrick Ewing, NBA Hall of Fame center

"Mike Jarvis' is one of my special friends. I am so pleased that he has taken the time to write this fabulous book."-Mike Krzyzewski, Five-time NCAA championship head coach, Duke Blue Devils

"In reading this book, I can see that Mike hasn't lost his edge or his purpose. Readers should take a look at what he has to say."-Jim Calhoun, Three-time NCAA champion, UConn Men's basketball

Review on Hoopville coming soon!

Coaching Changes and NBA Draft Early Entrants

The coaching carousel is moving. Keep track of the latest coaching changes right here on Hoopville.

Also, keep track of players who have declared early for the NBA Draft.

College Basketball Tonight

We hope you enjoyed COLLEGE BASKETBALL TONIGHT during the 2016 NCAA Tournament. COLLEGE BASKETBALL TONIGHT is a comprehensive look at the NCAA Tournament hosted by veteran college basketball broadcaster Ted Sarandis, along with co-hosts Mike Jarvis and Terry O'Connor, both former Division I coaches. It also included many great guests, including Hoopville's own Phil Kasiecki.

The show aired on AM 710 WOR in New York City on Sunday evenings starting with Selection Sunday and running through the NCAA Tournament.